Bhairavam Review – Refreshing Conflict Hindered by Old-Fashioned Tropes

Bhairavam, produced by Sri Sathya Sai Arts, was released in theatres today. Telugu Funda reviews the remake of the Tamil-language hit, Garudan.

Telugu Funda’s reveal of the basic premise;

The story is set in an East Godavari village. In the sun-dappled days of their youth, Gajapathi Varma (Manchu Manoj) and Varadha (Nara Rohith) forged a bond as unyielding as ancient oaks, their laughter echoing through time. Into their world stumbled Seenu (Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas), an orphan shaped by fate.. Meanwhile, a supremely greedy Minister (Sharath Lohithaswa) casts a covetous gaze upon the hallowed grounds of the Varahi Ammavari temple, its sacred soil pulsing with jewelry. Towards this evil end, he enlists a cop named Parthasarathi (Sampath Raj), a pawn in his ruthless game to seize the divine land. As the story progresses, the tension between the various key characters turns into a modern-day version of the Mahabharatham tale on a smaller scale.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Performances.

1. The main leads: Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas shows the vulnerability and innocence of his character fairly well. He is decent in almost all emotional scenes and the two main action scenes he is part of. Manchu Manoj is better than Nara Rohith. The duo share the screen space in at least half a dozen defining scenes.
2. The female artists: Divya Pillai of Mangalavaaram fame is good as Varadha’s wife. Aanandhi is okay as Gajapathi’s wife. Aditi Shankar, seen as Seenu’s girlfriend, is energetic in one of the songs. But she doesn’t deliver much impact.
3. The bad guys: Sharath Lohithaswa is in the role of a corrupt politician. Ajay, as his right-hand man, is watchable despite his routine antics. Sandeep Raj, the director of Colour Photo fame, plays a negative character.
4. Others: Vennela Kishore’s constable character is forced. Jayasudha is seen in a cameo named Naga Ratnamma.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Technical Departments.

Sricharan Pakala’s work is semi-commendable. For the Goodachari and Major composer, Bhairavam comes closer to Allari Naresh’s Ugram than any other film in his career. Hari K Vedantham’s cinematography is impressive, especially in the climax action sequence.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Merits:

Merits:

The nature of the conflict between different characters is refreshing. Yes, there are some old-school elements, but in the era of contemporary action thrillers revolving around gangsters and drug cartels, Bhairavam offers some change.

A prominent grey character keeps the viewer guessing.

The second half, after some initial bumps, is stuffed with some intensely emotional stretches.

The dilemmas faced by Bellamkonda’s character endear him to the viewer. We sympathize with him at least once.

Demerits

Too many contrivances make Bhairavam look old-fashioned in many places. Characters overhear secret conversations, and Seenu is almost everywhere. This is not at all realistic. The screenplay should have been smart in these instances.

Some elements would have worked better had the genre been neo-noir. The original version, Garudan, was a neo-noir action drama.

The villains are cardboard characters without novelty.

The romantic track gives rise to one forced song and one forced scene.

Telugu Funda’s Verdict:

Bhairavam offers a decent conflict in an otherwise saturated action genre, driven by intensely emotional stretches in its second half and a sympathetic lead performance from Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas. However, the film is weighed down by an abundance of unrealistic contrivances, generic villains, and a somewhat mismatched genre approach compared to its neo-noir inspiration.

Rating: 2.5

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